Do I have migraines

When I was in my teens to early 20s I used to get migraines that included a flash before I got the headache, followed by a severe headache, vomitting–then exhaustion. After I had my first child, they stopped.

Now, I’m pre-menopausal & for the past 6 months I’ve had pain in my right eye & my forehead over the right eye. I went to the ophthalmologist & got a clean bill of health. I’m continuing to have the pain & am now having a half circle aura whenever I move my eye to the right to the left.

I was prescribed Imitrex until my follow up with my family doctor in 2 weeks. The Imitrex does help but not completely.

I’m wondering if my migraines have returned. My symptoms are different than when I was younger. The headache is different & while constant, not as severe. I don’t get them every day, but I’d say probably 15-20 days out of the month I have a headache for most of the day. The aura is becoming increasingly worrying to me because its constant now.

Those definitely sound like they could be migraine symptoms and should be evaluated by a doctor. Migraines can definitely change over time. My aura has changed over time, too. I used to see black spots over on the right periphery that weren’t there, and my right eye would go blurry. Now, I see electric blue and green fireflies that blink in and out in directly in front of me, sligthly to the left. The brain is a strange creature.

And your headaches can change, too, and can respond differently to hormonal changes, and to different medications. My hormones, before I was on a pill that flattened things out, gave me crazy migraines. So pre-menopause could definitely be a trigger, if that’s what’s going on. You also might read up on food triggers, sleep pattern, light, sound, stress, weather pattern, and the other things that can potentially trigger migraine, to see if you can identify any that might be a trigger for you. If the Imitrex isn’t getting rid of your symptoms completely, I would say to make an appointment with a headache specialist.

I am also pre-menopausal and seem to be experience some kind of migraine symptom most of the month. I’ve heard from around three people that the migraines can stop when a person is no longer pre-menopausal. I’ve tried to look for information out there between the connection, but there doesn’t seem like much. My symptoms tend to vary.